Oct 29 2008
Family Sailing Practicalities
For many families considering big boat sailing as a pastime, hobby or lifestyle, sailboat ownership is likely to be unaffordable and these days, definately impractical. Renting a sail boat can be hit or miss. I have found the majority of available rental boats to be in less than great shape and availability itself can be a problem when you want to sail. We can all agree, once on the water, the sailing experience is…priceless !
SailTime has come to the rescue in the form of a “new era” hybrid sailing club. Without the associated hassles of ownership, this program provides families with a high quality experience any time they want to go sailing at a monthly flat rate price. For some folks, its an afternoon of sailing, sandwiched between a variety of other family commitments. For others, it is a couple days each month, getting away from it all, on a local cruise, in our case, out to our Channel Islands.
This spectacular photo was taken by Member, Mike Ruel the other day. He and his family and friends encountered the Point Mugu dolphin pod which is estimated in the thousands. The dolphins just love the dynamics of surfing a bow wave ! We are glad they do ! The Ruel family is a good case in point. They plan to buy a sailboat in the near future. But they dont need to own a sailboat right now, to put in the reps needed to become proficient and accomplished sailors. They can get all this experience on a SailTime boat and when the right time comes to own for them, they will be much more educated on what they want to own. The Ruel’s have lofty goals of sailing around the world and we here, cheer them on towards that goal !
